See the Giant Buddha of Leshan from the river and the cliff

What the experience is

The Leshan Giant Buddha is a figure of Maitreya carved out of the red sandstone of Lingyun Mountain, at the meeting of the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers. It is 71 metres tall, and is often described as the largest pre-modern stone Buddha in the world. It faces Mount Emei across the plain.

The work was begun in the early eighth century by a monk named Hai Tong, who hoped the Buddha would calm the dangerous water where the rivers meet. It was continued by his disciples after his death and finished in 803, with the support of the regional governor Wei Gao.

Two ways of seeing it

From the cliff, a path leads to the level of the head and a stairway descends beside the figure to its feet. The scale is felt on the way down. The head is 14.7 metres high and carries 1,021 coiled buns of hair. The ears are seven metres long, the shoulders 28 metres across, and a person can sit on one toenail.

From the river, a boat stops in front of the cliff for a few minutes. This is the only place from which the whole figure can be seen at once.

A system of hidden gutters and channels inside the body drains rainwater and has helped to preserve the statue for twelve centuries.

When to go

The site can be visited all year. Weekdays outside the Chinese holidays are much quieter. On busy days the queue for the stairway can be long; the boat avoids it, though it can be cancelled in bad weather or at high water.

Good to know

Leshan is usually visited as a day trip from Chengdu, or on the way to Mount Emei, which shares its World Heritage listing of 1996. Tickets are real-name, so bring a passport. The walking ticket for the scenic area and the boat ticket are separate products: the boat gives the full view but not the cliff path, and the walk gives close views but not the whole figure. Advance reservation is advisable at holidays and in summer. The stairway is steep and narrow and is not suitable for those unsteady on their feet. The boat is the easier choice and the better one for photographs.

Why OKYTO recommends it

The Buddha is one of the few colossal figures of the ancient world that survives complete and in its setting.